Emmanuel Dennis’ Coach gets vote of confidence from club owner

Soccer Football – Premier League – Leeds United v Nottingham Forest – Elland Road, Leeds, Britain – April 4, 2023 Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper looks dejected after the match Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith

By Ed Emeanua

Emmanuel Dennis’ Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has openly supported his coach Steve Cooper after a string of poor Premier League turn-overs, but the Greek shipowner insisted that the side’s downhill motion on the table should be immediately corrected.

Forest loss away to Leeds United on Tuesday stretched their winless tally to eight league games on the trot and currently sees them in the 17th spot on the table with 27 points, same as three other strugglers, and partly avoiding the drop line because of their more impressive goal difference over periled Bournemouth.

The defeat by Leeds mounted immediate additional pressure on Cooper’s job at City Ground, with earlier rumors suggesting that the Welshman could become the 13th Premier League head-coach to be chopped off his  job this season.

“No one denies that our club is in a difficult position in the Premier League, but we wish to end the speculation and the false and disruptive reporting in the media to confirm that Steve Cooper remains our manager,” Marinakis said in a statement.

“We have all been disappointed with recent performances and it is very clear that a lot of hard work needs to be done to address this urgently… There can be no time for distractions, rumors and speculation.

“There is only time for hard work, determination, a commitment from Steve and the players to getting the results we need…”